[il-talk] FW: Draft Chicago Chapter Minutes, December 14, 2013

[David Meyer]

David Meyer, NFB of Illinois
Coordinator and channel administrator, NFB-NewsLine
Chicago Chapter President

-----Original Message-----
From: Deborah Kent Stein [mailto:dkent5817 at att.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, January 01, 2014 9:06 PM
To: David Meyer
Subject: Draft Chicago Chapter Minutes, December 14, 2013



NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER MEETING
December 14, 2013
Exchequer Pub and Restaurant
226 S. Wabash, Chicago

CALL TO ORDER

Chicago Chapter First Vice President Denise Avant called the meeting to
order at 12 PM. The meeting was streamed on the Internet, courtesy of Byron
Lee. Twenty-seven people were in attendance.

WHAT's HAPPENING?

The What's Happening portion of the meeting included health concerns and any
other notable events in our lives. Gina Falvo announced that she attended a
writing workshop at Second Sense. Her story, "My Dance through Heaven," will
be included in a book that Second Sense is compiling. Mary Grunwald said
that the vendors held their Christmas party last night.

SECRETARY's MINUTES

The minutes of the November meeting were approved.

PRESIDENTIAL RELEASE

NFB President Mark Maurer announced the death of longtime member Adrienne
Asch on November 19. He read a letter from Rick Fox that recounted a memory
of Adrienne dealing with discrimination in a jury pool in Manhattan. During
the Thanksgiving board meeting Dr. Maurer announced that he will not run for
re-election in 2014. He will support Mark Riccobono as his successor in the
presidency, and the board is very positive about this recommendation. The
latest court decision regarding Google Books is in favor of digitization in
part because it increases access to books for people with print
disabilities. The Bid for Equality Auction will close at midnight on
December 3. October's Meet the Blind Month activities were very successful,
raising $9780. Al Maneki and the Jernigan Institute have compiled the most
interesting and useful postings from the Blind Math listserv. The archives
have been searched through 2011. Contact Al Maneki at
apmaneki at earthlink.net. Applications for 2014 NFB national scholarships are
now available at www.nfb.org/scholarships. The 2014 Writers Division writing
contest is accepting entries.

STATE REPORT

NFBI First Vice President Denise Avant gave the state report in the absence
of President Patti Chang. Reservations at the Rosen Centre Hotel open on
January 1 for the national convention. The Blackhawk Chapter has a new
president, Jay Blanchard. Illinois will host a statewide Braille Readers Are
Leaders Contest for children. Nine Illinoisians will attend Washington
Seminar, including a parent and two students. The training will take place
via teleconference on December 27. National and state scholarship
applications are due on March 31, 2014. The 2014 Teacher-Parent Seminar will
be held April 4 and 5 at the Holiday Inn Express. We are planning to hold
another BELL Program at the Chicago Lighthouse next summer. We are still
exploring hotels in Champaign and Rockford as possible locations for our
2014 state convention. There will be a state board meeting on December 17 at
7 PM.

FUNDRAISING

Games Night will be held at Exchequer following the January chapter meeting.

Bring friends and family! Tickets are $25, which includes pizza and soft 
drinks.

NEW BUSINESS

Dave Meyer described the Blind Services Planning Council meeting he attended

earlier in the day. He said that communication with the Office of 
Rehabilitation Services seems to have broken down completely. Neither 
Director Hansen nor Francisco Alvarado were at the meeting, nor did they 
submit any reports. We are still hoping that a bureau chief will be 
appointed. The NFB of Illinois has made its preferences known, and we may 
need to ask for further help from our members. The council agrees that we 
are being systematically excluded from decisions pertaining to our 
rehabilitation. Derrick Philips of ICRE stated, "I don't know who my boss is

right now."

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 1:03. The meeting was followed by the annual 
holiday auction, with Dave Meyer serving as auctioneer.

Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Stein, Secretary 


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